Sean Payton suspended one year.

[Texan_Bill]

Originally Posted by TheMatrix31

Love seeing Saints fans in a tailspin. Screw 'em.

I disagree with that sentiment, for this reason:

I went to New Orleans for a Texans game and other then the obligatory drunk dick, most fans were cool.. That said, I give a damn about the rats ass with regards to the Saints organization.

[Texans_Chick]

Originally Posted by Texan_Bill

I disagree with that sentiment, for this reason:

I went to New Orleans for a Texans game and other then the obligatory drunk dick, most fans were cool.. That said, I give a damn about the rats ass with regards to the Saints organization.

I disagree with that sentiment because if Goodell can use the nuclear option against the Saints with fans in the crossfire, he can use it against any team.

[Corrosion]

Originally Posted by Texans_Chick

I disagree with that sentiment because if Goodell can use the nuclear option against the Saints with fans in the crossfire, he can use it against any team.

I dont consider what the Saints got to be such a nuclear option , in fact I think they got off light.

They broke the rule of sportsmanship. The things we try to instill in our kids from sports at an early age. Its not whether you win or lose , its how you play the game .... Win or lose with dignity & grace.

Yes , you play to win the game .... but you go about it in the right way.

Maybe I expect too much from people .... I cant stand a cheater or a liar.

I guess they are a pretty good example of our society as a whole today tho , winning is all that matters , no matter the cost.


For what its worth , I wouldnt think it too harsh for every coach and player who was involved to be banned for life.

[Dutchrudder]

Originally Posted by Texans_Chick

I disagree with that sentiment because if Goodell can use the nuclear option against the Saints with fans in the crossfire, he can use it against any team.

Why do the fans matter? They aren't involved in the equation at all, but are more like bystanders. The team hired people who did bad things, the team suffers for the bad things that their employees did. They ignored warnings from the commish several times, the commish was within his rights under the new CBA to assess the punishments given. Every punishment is legal within the CBA, the argument is merely subjective towards the commish's assessment. Whine and moan all you want about the extent of the punishment, but the owner signed off on the CBA and knew the capabilities given to the commish. Maybe next CBA they will revisit the powers bestowed upon him, but right now it's all sour grapes, just like the Cowboys/Redskins cap issues.

[majestrate]

Originally Posted by Corrosion

They broke the rule of sportsmanship. The things we try to instill in our kids from sports at an early age. Its not whether you win or lose , its how you play the game .... Win or lose with dignity & grace.

Yes , you play to win the game .... but you go about it in the right way.

Maybe I expect too much from people .... I cant stand a cheater or a liar.

I guess they are a pretty good example of our society as a whole today tho , winning is all that matters , no matter the cost.

Rep'd

[SheTexan]

Originally Posted by Corrosion

I dont consider what the Saints got to be such a nuclear option , in fact I think they got off light.

They broke the rule of sportsmanship. The things we try to instill in our kids from sports at an early age. Its not whether you win or lose , its how you play the game .... Win or lose with dignity & grace.

Yes , you play to win the game .... but you go about it in the right way.

Maybe I expect too much from people .... I cant stand a cheater or a liar.

I guess they are a pretty good example of our society as a whole today tho , winning is all that matters , no matter the cost.


For what its worth , I wouldnt think it too harsh for every coach and player who was involved to be banned for life.

rep"d!

Fans have to suck it up and take crap all the time! What makes Saints fans so special? The NFL is a BUSINESS, which is a term that has been used repeatedly this year, esp since Demeco's trade. A business makes rules and is EXPECTED to follow them. The Saints broke the rules in a major way, and Sean Payton was a major player in a horrendous scheme to deliberately injure players. He doesn't deserve to be in the NFL PERIOD!! JMO!!! The penalty is way to light! Using the "fans" as an excuse is just wrong..IMHO anyway!

[ObsiWan]

My question is: If this is such a heinous "crime" and the NFL has been watching it and warning teams about this since at least 2007 (that's damn near five years) why now? Why did Goodell not start handing out suspensions in 2008 or 2009?? What other teams were on his "radar" and why haven't those teams/names been brought to light??

Let's be real. The severity of the punishment is not about the crime. The punishment was severe because Goodell thought he'd been lied to. It's about Goodell's ego plain & simple.

[ArlingtonTexan]

Originally Posted by ObsiWan

My question is: If this is such a heinous "crime" and the NFL has been watching it and warning teams about this since at least 2007 (that's damn near five years) why now? Why did Goodell not start handing out suspensions in 2008 or 2009?? What other teams were on his "radar" and why haven't those teams/names been brought to light??

Let's be real. The severity of the punishment is not about the crime. The punishment was severe because Goodell thought he'd been lied to. It's about Goodell's ego plain & simple.

Of course, the bring lied to is adding to the penalty. Most of us know that from chlldhood and we even have the trite statement "the cover-up is worse than the crime." In this way, goddell is acting no different than most people do.

That said, the overall emphasis on player safety is not some grand humanitarian awakening by the NFL. The league is getting sued currently by former players and these will continue if the NFL does not show that it is trying to make the game "safe" as possible.

[steelbtexan]

Originally Posted by ObsiWan

My question is: If this is such a heinous "crime" and the NFL has been watching it and warning teams about this since at least 2007 (that's damn near five years) why now? Why did Goodell not start handing out suspensions in 2008 or 2009?? What other teams were on his "radar" and why haven't those teams/names been brought to light??

Let's be real. The severity of the punishment is not about the crime. The punishment was severe because Goodell thought he'd been lied to. It's about Goodell's ego plain & simple.

Yep

The coverup is almost always worse than the crime.

For the record, If I were a Saints fan the punishment is well worth a Lombardi Trophy. Nobody got killed/career ended)

Goodell is ruining the game I love. Even though I agree with the punishment in this case.

[Dutchrudder]

Originally Posted by steelbtexan

Yep

The coverup is almost always worse than the crime.

For the record, If I were a Saints fan the punishment is well worth a Lombardi Trophy. Nobody got killed/career ended)

Goodell is ruining the game I love. Even though I agree with the punishment in this case.

Kurt Warner and Brett Favre would beg to differ.

[JPPT1974]

Well Parcells aka the Tuna might be coming to the Saints rescue. Would not be surprised if he did.

[Thorn]

I heard (on NFLN) Sean Payton is appealing his suspension. I'd just as soon he got kicked out of the NFL permanently.

[Malloy]

Originally Posted by Thorn

I heard (on NFLN) Sean Payton is appealing his suspension. I'd just as soon he got kicked out of the NFL permanently.

You're up early. Thirsty ?

[SheTexan]

Originally Posted by Thorn

I heard (on NFLN) Sean Payton is appealing his suspension. I'd just as soon he got kicked out of the NFL permanently.

Must spread rep Thorn! I agree!! Won't happen, but, it should!

[StarStruck]

Originally Posted by Thorn

I heard (on NFLN) Sean Payton is appealing his suspension. I'd just as soon he got kicked out of the NFL permanently.

I agree. Due to the nature of the sport, the risk for career ending injuries can occur during any practice or gameday. IMO, placing bounties to speed up the process should not be acceptable.

[CloakNNNdagger]

Appeals may focus on disconnect between bounties, on-field actions

QUOTE]The NFL’s internal dispute resolution system carries with it an added benefit, above and beyond the fact that the Commissioner gets to make the decision and then determine whether he made the right decision: The in-house appeal process keeps most of the arguments and facts out of the public eye.

In contrast to courtroom proceedings, which are subject to full public exposure, the only way we’ll know anything about anything that happens during the Saints’ bounty appeals is if someone leaks something.

Here’s a little something that has leaked in advance of the hearings.

According to a source with knowledge of the situation, the appeals may consist of arguments based on the fundamental difference between the placement of “bounties” on players and the actual infliction of injury. If, in other words, the offer of cash for a “cart-off” didn’t actually result in a player being carted off, the situation arguably becomes a case of intent without a crime.

Then there’s the possibility that, as it relates to the infliction of injuries, the bounty concept was more hyperbole than reality, with the promise of payments for knocking offensive players out of the game simply a device for getting the defensive players properly motivated to play with reckless abandon and appropriate zeal, different in form but no different in substance from the many other ways that teams get players fired up before games.

Also, one or more of the appeals could focus on the unexplored question of whether other teams did the same or similar things, and thus whether it’s objectively fair to nail the Saints simply because, more than two years after the league investigated the situation and got nowhere, a whistleblower blew the case open. Nailing the Saints for something that other teams quite possibly have been doing, but that the NFL hasn’t fully investigated, could be painted as inequitable.

Moreover, there’s an unwillingness to accept without scrutiny the work of NFL Security, which somehow was duped by the Saints in 2010, and which otherwise was unable to catch the Saints without the help of a whistleblower. The raw data generated by NFL Security undoubtedly will be studied and picked apart and, wherever justified, attacked as flawed.

In the end, it may not matter, given that the same office that imposed the penalties is reviewing them. At this point, any softening of the penalties will create the impression that the league has decided to tolerate bounties.

So while it may not be fair for the Saints to be the scapegoats, the league has little choice. And the league will undoubtedly justify the punishment based on the fact that the Saints lied about the existence of the bounty system in 2009 — and that the Saints continued to brazenly use bounties for two seasons after the league investigated the situation.[/quote]

[welsh texan]

Intent to commit a crime constitutes a crime in itself though no?

[Playoffs]

Starting to sound like part of Saints motivation here is to discover/expose the "whistleblower".

Saints and NFL better be careful there...

[Thorn]

Originally Posted by Playoffs

Starting to sound like part of Saints motivation here is to discover/expose the "whistleblower".

Saints and NFL better be careful there...

My feelings is anyone, and that means ANYONE, who has participated in any program that has the intent to injure other players, should be out of the NFL for good.

Playing hard and hitting hard is one thing, we all like that. We also love the slow motion violence the NFL provides us during game coverage. That's just the way it is. But playing with the INTENT TO INJURE another player is just wrong, and should never be tolerated.

Never.

[Dutchrudder]

Originally Posted by Thorn

My feelings is anyone, and that means ANYONE, who has participated in any program that has the intent to injure other players, should be out of the NFL for good.

Playing hard and hitting hard is one thing, we all like that. We also love the slow motion violence the NFL provides us during game coverage. That's just the way it is. But playing with the INTENT TO INJURE another player is just wrong, and should never be tolerated.

Never.

I agree that it is wrong, and that it shouldn't be tolerated, but I don't think the player should be banned from the league. What do you think AJ was trying to do here? Get a mosquito off Finnegan's ear?



They were obviously trying to injure each other, and I would have been fine with them getting suspended a couple games, but any more than that would be excessive. There are guys who go out there trying to hurt other players, it happens in a tough contact sport, but it's difficult to identify the intent to do so.

I think the coaches are much more culpable in this instance because it was a system designed and implemented by the DC. I don't think many of the players involved would have been attacking opposing players the way they did without this system and the direction of the coaches. The players are soldiers and are somewhat products of the team culture. Throw these same players into the mix at Houston, and they won't be playing the same way.

The HC and GM tacitly approved the system too, so that's why they deserve the fines and suspensions. Also, there is the whole lying to the commish thing. I'm sure that didn't help their cases.